Hartland resident Kent Barlow, 48, died after having a heart attack while driving a tow truck in Commerce Township.

Barlow was working at Escort Towing when the incident happened. He had worked there for more than 16 years.

Office Manager Gina Flores said work was not the same on Monday without Barlow there.

"He was part of our family," she said with tears in her eyes. "He was a loyal and trusted employee and friend, and we're really going to miss him."

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Flores described him as a very happy, conscientious and dependable employee.

"The Sheriff's Office called us and told us he had been involved in an accident and that we needed to get a hold of his immediate family. I was shocked," Flores said.

She said she saw Barlow right before he drove to Commerce Township, and she had no idea that would be the last time she would see him.

Barlow was driving a 2002 International Tow Wrecker south on Commerce Road near Woodcreek Court, and a witness told deputies that he drifted across the center line, drifted back to the right off the roadway and then struck two small trees at 3:49 p.m. Friday.

The witness got out of the car and initiated CPR, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office reported.

Community EMS transported Barlow to Huron Valley Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Barlow died from arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease and not from trauma, according to the Medical Examiner's Office. This heart disease, which is the main cause of heart attacks and strokes, results in the hardening and narrowing of the arteries.

"I think what I will miss is that he seemed to let stress roll off his shoulders and produce a smile," said West Bloomfield resident Dave Raiger, who worked with Barlow at his previous job at Orchard Lake Towing. "The towing industry lost a good one.

"Kent was a good guy, always polite and smiling, and he would break his back to help you out."

Barlow's family is having a memorial service at 6 p.m. Thursday at CrossPoint Community Church, 1850 S. Commerce Road in Walled Lake.